Finding the Green within the Grey

Where are your hands?

I’ve decided to jump on the November bandwagon and blog everyday. The thing I love about blogging is it’s random. Random thoughts that are not about perfection. Writing for work is about getting every word right, placing facts and quotes in the right order and giving good information (told in a clever way) to your readers.

Blogging? It’s about my brain, which is a collage and spurts out random thoughts at too-fast-a-speed. When I think about people I love who process more slowly, I hear them telling me to just stop. Stop with the spewing. But blogging asks me to spew. Writing on my blog every day means I will practice my writing in a public way while having fun spewing what’s spinning around in my brain.

The world is beautiful and dangerous,
and joyful and sad,
and ungrateful and giving,
and full of so, so many things.
The world is new and it is old.
It is big and it is small.
The world is fierce and it is kind,
and we, every one of us, are in it.

-Mark Twain, The Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine

But mostly today I’m thinking about my hands, and a quote I placed in a story about how to help your kids with anxiety. The (kind) clinical psychologist Chris McCurry told me he often tells his clients to find their hands. “Oh, there are my hands. What are you supposed to be doing with your hands at this moment? That’s right, I do have hands and they’re supposed to be doing something right now. And that “something” is most often useful and OK,” said Chris.

Why am I thinking about my hands? Well, partly because McCurry tells his clients this to get them out of ruminating about the past or worrying about the future. Om Shanti, Shanti folks, Om. I mean, really, try chanting “Om” and see if it doesn’t change the moment. Better yet, do what Chris says and find your hands and empty the dishwasher or find your car keys and drive to the ocean. Or be like me and get busy on writing your next piece for work.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comment

Name *

Email *

Website

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

Nancy Schatz Alton

I used to ride the playground ponies — painted metal creature swings behind my childhood home — and dream of a book with my name on it: Nancy Schatz. Years later, I walked that same playground and young girl asked me my age. Maybe I was 19. Shocked, she asked if I was married. Nope, not yet, I laughed in reply.

Now I’m married and my body’s pretty close to being 50 years old. My first dream came true with one minor adjustment. The name on the cover of those books is “Nancy Schatz Alton.” I think it took writing these two holistic healthcare guides — The Healthy Back Book and The Healthy Knees Book — to believe I really am a writer. But I’ve been a writer before I could pencil the alphabet on the itchy lined paper in Kindergarten. It’s just who I am.

I wear many other definitions. I’m lucky enough to be a mom to a teenager and a tween. I’m a freelance writer, editor and writing teacher and coach, too. I’m a baker and a short-order cook, an off-key singer and car dancer. I’m a former long distance runner, an avid reader and a lover of color. I’m also a spy, because writers are spies, right?

This blog was born a few years ago when I finally got tired of denying myself the privilege of having a blog. I love sharing my words, and if these thoughts can help someone else, even better. As this blog has evolved, some of what I have written is part of a memoir manuscript entitled “But Still and Yet: Navigating the Learning Differences World with My Daughter.” That’s the tale of being and becoming a mother. No, it’s not the story of my first child’s birth and how I stepped into this new role, although there are many fine books about this very topic. This memoir is about learning to embrace the idea that life doesn’t always get to be easy for our offspring. If you aren’t a parent, the journey I take is the same journey all humans take during this lifetime. This memoir answers this question: how do we crack ourselves open to become our best possible selves?

Boom. Enjoy my blog. Say hello via a comment if you have can. And Welcome to Within The Words, Finding the Green within the Grey,.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.